Representatives from Shell Oil Company visited with OSU Institute of Technology students Feb. 11 to instill the importance of soft skills, in addition to technical skills, when seeking employment.
Shell provides annual funding to OSUIT to help expand students' soft and interview skills. The annual presentation, developed by the Workforce Development and Diversity Outreach (WDDO) Team at Shell, covers areas such as interview tips, resume building and business etiquette to help prepare students on the importance of marketing themselves.
In addition to the soft skills presentation, Brian Hicks, senior maintenance planner at Shell Pipeline Company, helps support the presentation and provides an overview of Shell Pipeline and the industry.
Opportunities like these also give the students exposure to meet potential employer representatives face-to-face to grow a relationship and ask questions regarding the profession and company. Thirty six students attended this year’s presentation.
“This is the second Shell presentation I have attended,” said Lindsay Williams, Pipeline Integritystudent. “I found this presentation very valuable, it answered questions that I was too leery to ask my instructors.”
Williams not only took value in learning what all Shell was capable of but also how much of a role soft-skills play in presenting yourself as a professional individual. “It’s very important to have, especially when you are actively seeking employment.”
Pipeline Integrity Instructor, Doug Massey helped facilitate the presentation.
“Shell’s partnership with OSUIT shows the emphasis they have on the future of the industry and their commitment to the future employee workforce,” said Massey. “Students get the opportunity to not only learn about the overall operations of Shell, but they also coach the students on how to work for an industry leader.”
This presentation provides students with the firsthand experience from Shell on what day-to-day operations are like. They reinforce the importance of what is being taught at OSUIT through topics such as safety, compliance and overall operations.
The partnership between OSUIT and Shell has not only been educational but has also aided in internship and full-time opportunities for students.
“The presentation helps Shell identify top talent including diverse and military talent for potential internship opportunities where Shell Pipeline operates,” said Dylan Raymond, Senior Recruiter, Ops, Crafts & Military. “We hold these sessions across the U.S. with other community and technical colleges where Shell has a major presence and we hope to continue the sessions as long as the business supports it and there is a need.”
Shell and OSUIT’s partnership began in 2014. At the time Shell’s Workforce Development and Diversity Outreach Team had just met with Shell Pipeline and was tasked to help them develop a long-term workforce strategy and internship program.
“Sometimes timing is everything,” said David Esquibel, Workforce Development Diversity Advisor, Shell Oil Company. “And the timing and stars, in this case, lined up perfectly.”
In 2015, David took Shell Pipeline business operations leaders on tours of OSUIT, specifically the Pipeline Integrity Technology program, however, other programs also had a fit (i.e., Instrumentation/Electrical). OSUIT is the only university campus with a program degree dedicated to the pipeline industry.